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News & ArtsWednesday, September 22, 2010
Boom Tonight: SUPER HARVEST MOON!
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Wed, Sep 22, 2010 at 1:45 PM
Tomorrow is the first day of autumn. This evening, there is a super harvest moon—the full moon is rising right when the sun sets, which'll make it all gigantor-orange-glowy-amazing.
All you have to do is locate yourself in a spot with a clear view of both the east and the west (or just the east if you're sick of the sunset already) at right around 7 p.m. (Sunset/moonrise is at 7:09 p.m. here in Seattle—find your time over here, courtesy of Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory.) Then look with your eyeballs. Probably you should bring a wooly sweater and a flask or a Thermos of martinis or a water-bottle of wine. And a person you like. And maybe some bread and cheese. SUPER! HARVEST! MOON!
3
Too bad it was so cloudy over the weekend, on International Observe the Moon night.
Jupiter is also as close as it ever gets to the Earth right now, and directly opposite the sun, near the moon in the early Eastern evening sky. Uranus is close to Jupiter in the sky, a pale bluish dot you'll probably need a telescope or binoculars to spot.
I was in my backyard late last night looking toward the west-northwest for the constellation Lyra (its most prominent star, Vega, is 5th brightest in our sky) because that region of space contains what might be the lowest mass planet yet discovered outside of our solar system. Two weeks ago, NASA announced that its space-based Kepler observatory had seen two Saturn-sized giant worlds transiting a star in Lyra like our own sun that they call Kepler-9.
They also cautiously announced the potential discovery of a third world in that system, that looks like it may be only one and a half times the size of ours. It's orbiting far too close to its sun and too fast to actually be Earthlike at all. The "Super Earth" that may or may not be is called KOI-377.03.
Thanks to new science like the Kepler sky survey, it won't be long before we'll be able to stand in our backyard and point to lights in the sky with Earthlike worlds orbiting them. That gives me goosebumps...
Jupiter is also as close as it ever gets to the Earth right now, and directly opposite the sun, near the moon in the early Eastern evening sky. Uranus is close to Jupiter in the sky, a pale bluish dot you'll probably need a telescope or binoculars to spot.
I was in my backyard late last night looking toward the west-northwest for the constellation Lyra (its most prominent star, Vega, is 5th brightest in our sky) because that region of space contains what might be the lowest mass planet yet discovered outside of our solar system. Two weeks ago, NASA announced that its space-based Kepler observatory had seen two Saturn-sized giant worlds transiting a star in Lyra like our own sun that they call Kepler-9.
They also cautiously announced the potential discovery of a third world in that system, that looks like it may be only one and a half times the size of ours. It's orbiting far too close to its sun and too fast to actually be Earthlike at all. The "Super Earth" that may or may not be is called KOI-377.03.
Thanks to new science like the Kepler sky survey, it won't be long before we'll be able to stand in our backyard and point to lights in the sky with Earthlike worlds orbiting them. That gives me goosebumps...
5
@4: From the source of all that is true, Wikipedia:
The Harvest Moon comes soon before or soon after the autumnal equinox. It is simply the full moon closest to that equinox. About once every four years it occurs in October (in the northern hemisphere), depending on the cycles of the moon. Currently, the latest the Harvest Moon can occur is on October 7.
The Harvest Moon comes soon before or soon after the autumnal equinox. It is simply the full moon closest to that equinox. About once every four years it occurs in October (in the northern hemisphere), depending on the cycles of the moon. Currently, the latest the Harvest Moon can occur is on October 7.
7
Great, yet another sublime experience sullied by the innate human need to share it "with someone you like".
*Grumble!* Where's The Incredible Sulk when you really need him?
*Grumble!* Where's The Incredible Sulk when you really need him?
13
It's also Bilbo & Frodo's birthday.
Celebrate by finding and/or destroying an incredibly powerful artifact of impending doom.
Or drink some ale. Whichever works.
Celebrate by finding and/or destroying an incredibly powerful artifact of impending doom.
Or drink some ale. Whichever works.
15
I'm thinking somewhere along Lake Washington might be good. Behind Husky Stadium or in Madrona Park. Not really easy for me to get to either, though. :(
As it's the harvest moon, it's also the day of the autumn moon festival, so going to a Chinese bakery and seeing if you can still get a mooncake would be in order.
As it's the harvest moon, it's also the day of the autumn moon festival, so going to a Chinese bakery and seeing if you can still get a mooncake would be in order.
16
Oops, I forgot about the sunset. I figure you can catch a sunset any clear day anyway, but Lake Washington seems like it'd be good for catching the moonrise, which is all I care about when the moon is full.
19
Not much for ambiance....but middle of the Aurora Bridge gets my vote for best viewing spot. Expect several photographers.
20
Moon cakes are probably at most of the Asian markets in the area. I like to get them from the bakeries, though, but I bet they're running low everywhere.
How about the Jose Rizal Bridge, the Fremont Bridge, and the Aurora Bridge? I don' t remember what kind of view you get of the sunset from the University Bridge, but maybe that and the Montlake Bridge are also good spots. I guess you won't get much quiet reflection with all the traffic, but the views might be fantastic.
How about the Jose Rizal Bridge, the Fremont Bridge, and the Aurora Bridge? I don' t remember what kind of view you get of the sunset from the University Bridge, but maybe that and the Montlake Bridge are also good spots. I guess you won't get much quiet reflection with all the traffic, but the views might be fantastic.
21
A full moon, by definition, rises when the sun is setting. The moon has to be directly opposite the sun in the sky to be full. If you miss this one don't worry, just come back in 28 days.
Since we're almost to the equinox, the moon is near the vernal equinox in the sky. If you miss it and for some reason want to see the moon rise in nearly the same spot you can wait 6 months & ~7 lunar cycles.
Here's a fun experiment: pick a spot to view each full moon from and take a picture of every full moon for a year a fixed time after rising (say 1hr). Overlay pictures. ???. Profit.
Since we're almost to the equinox, the moon is near the vernal equinox in the sky. If you miss it and for some reason want to see the moon rise in nearly the same spot you can wait 6 months & ~7 lunar cycles.
Here's a fun experiment: pick a spot to view each full moon from and take a picture of every full moon for a year a fixed time after rising (say 1hr). Overlay pictures. ???. Profit.
23
@22 but my calendar runs out in 2012 when it says I need to buy more Harvest Moon Mayan Chocolate.
26
The overlook park on 15th is a great place to see sunrise. I assume it is also a great place to see the Moon Rise over Bellevue and Lake WAshington.
Denny Blaine park or Madison Park beach also.
Denny Blaine park or Madison Park beach also.
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